You Can't Handle the Truth
by Leanbh-Dorchadas
Summary: Coreen thinks Vicki should be more emotionally open. As usual, things go awry...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Obviously I don't own ANYTHING to do with Blood Ties, I'm just borrowing the characters for a little imagination rollercoaster. This is my first ever fic, so be kind!

"Henry I swear – if you don't give it a rest I'll…"

"You'll what? Give in?" He replied quickly, a cheeky smirk on his face. Her lips tightened into a thin line and, taking a deep breath, she continued.

"What I was _**going**_ to say _**after **_'I need you' was 'to help me with an investigation'. Jeez, you'd think a guy who got as much action as you would be…calmer." He rolled his eyes at her and, seeing that she was, yet again, coming to him in complete business mode, he 'gave it a rest'.

"Alright, Vicki, what can I do for you this time?" He gestured toward his sofa and they sat beside each other as she filled him in on the case she was working. For once, it was a husband who had come to her, wondering about his wife's night-time habits. She had, of late, been coming home later and later and he was worried she might be seeing someone else.

"Seems to me this doesn't require my…skills…" He observed after she finished. She paused for a second then, turning her attention back to the manila folder she'd brought she looked pensive for a moment.

"Yeah, well…You're handy to have around. Just in case." It was weak, she knew, but she absolutely refused to say she just wanted to spend time with him. His eyebrows rose at her excuse and he fought the grin that threatened to appear - he knew exactly what she was trying not to say. He decided not to comment on her feeble cover-up; if she still needed to lie to herself about her feelings, that was fine by him. Soon enough she'd come around. He hoped.

xXxXxXx

They headed out toward the woman's workplace. She'd be finishing late and they planned to follow her and watch her doing whatever it was that was keeping her out late.

"Vicki, looks like your hunch was right. She's over there, with that group of women. She must just be making some new friends." Henry gestured gently in the direction of the group and headed to the bar as Vicki took a few covert photos for proof.

"Well that's another case solved!" She said cheerily as she joined Henry at the bar. She looked gratefully at the martini he had ordered her and picked it up, taking a long sip.

"Now that that's out of the way, how would you like to join me for dinner?"

"Will you be eating or will I?"

"Which would you prefer?"

Vicki tried for a sarcastic quip, but nothing came to her.

"Actually, I am kinda hungry. Chinese at my place?" She felt rotten – he had won, and judging by the smirk and raised eyebrow he knew it.

"As the lady wishes." He placed his hand on her lower back. He had done it on purpose, just to remind her of what he could do to her. His point hit home as, after an involuntary shiver and quickening of her heart rate, she turned and glared at him pointedly.

xXxXxXx

Coreen had had enough of Vicki's denial. As she packed up the candles and book she'd been using, a smile spread across her face. She had noticed the spell a few days ago and had decided to try it out; it was supposed to allow the person it was placed upon to become more in touch with their emotions and allow them to express them more easily, and Coreen had found herself imagining a less uptight, better-adjusted Victoria Nelson. Hopefully, her PI boss and good friend would awake the next morning to an emotional epiphany, maybe she would realise she needed to give Henry a chance, and finally all the angst Vicki used to cover her lusting after the vampire would dissipate. Smiling at the thought of Vicki maybe even accepting a hug gracefully when she came to the office, Coreen tucked herself into bed.

xXxXxXx

Coreen arrived at the office, trying desperately to hide her excitement. Vicki was already in, and was sitting, feet up on her desk, drinking a cup of coffee. All seemed normal enough to the young gothette, so she tried a more direct approach.

"Hey, Vic, how are you today?" She tried to keep her tone light – her boss was, after all, an ex-cop and could sense a secret in record time.

"Hey, Coreen, I'm ok, thanks." The blonde didn't even look up from the file she was reading. "When's my first appointment today?"

Black brows drew down over heavily made-up eyes before Coreen responded. It hadn't worked.

"Some guy's coming in at eleven to check on progress…something about his wife." She returned to her desk and flopped dejectedly down into her chair. It hadn't worked.

"Coreen, do you think Henry'll be around tonight?" A gleam of hope shone from the younger woman's eyes at the question.

"Of course he will. He always comes by. Why?"

"No reason. I'd just like…" her tone changed ever so slightly "to get my hands on him…" Coreen leaned all the way forward in her seat to get a good look at Vicki.

"What?!" Coreen's voice was shrill as she asked in disbelief. Vicki looked just as shocked at her admission as her assistant.

"Ignore that. I had no intention of saying that out loud…I think I'm just tired or something…" Vicki was horrified. Why had she said that? She hadn't even really realised she'd been thinking it…Throwing herself back into her work she ignored the little faux pas and got on with her day.

A/N: Ok, so that's ch. 1...please do review!


	2. Chapter 2: Things get a little weird

A/N: Still don't own BT or anything to do with it! This chapter's maybe a little more interesting than the first...

A breeze through the office and hot breath on her neck alerted Vicki to his presence.

"I think for your birthday I ought to get you one of those collars that cats wear. You know – with a bell." She didn't even take her eyes off the paperwork she was working on. A soft chuckle from behind her sent a shiver up her spine.

"I'd rather a more…personal gift, Victoria." His fingers gently pulled a lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. He relished the quickening of her heart rate and took in the delicious change in her scent. His grin broadened.

"Uh…" She was momentarily stunned, unable to control the rush of desire for him.

"Well I could just give you me…" Her tone was seductive, unlike he had ever heard it before. He took a step backward, unsure how to take the sudden change in her behaviour. She gasped and a hand flew to her mouth in shock at what she'd just said.

"Ohmygod…Why the hell did I just say that?" She stood quickly and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You did something! You did the mind – control thing! That's really, really sick, Henry…"

He folded his arms and looked at her sternly. What on earth was wrong with her?

"Victoria, as I have reminded you _**several**_ times before the…'mind – control thing' doesn't work on you. Even if it did I wouldn't use it for that." One side of his lip curled upward. "You said that all by yourself. And judging by your scent you meant it…"

"No, no I didn't…I definitely did not! I wouldn't…I wasn't even thinking it!"

"Your brands…Are they as normal?" He was beginning to worry; her pulse was rushing and he could sense she was genuinely confused. She pulled up the sleeves of the grey jumper she was wearing and confirmed that they didn't seem to be doing anything.

"Well then, Vicki, It seems you must just be having a bout of honesty. Anything else you want to confess? Any…secret desires you'd like to fill me in on?"

"Well…there is this one where your head isn't absurdly large…" He looked completely taken aback. The remark wasn't said in the usual playful way; it was, in fact, spoken rather maliciously. She immediately appeared immensely apologetic, but it was too late. He appeared directly in front of her, his eyes opaque pools of anger, his sharp fangs bared at her.

"Do not assume that you can insult me as you do the good Detective." She swallowed and wet her lips, wondering what to say to calm him down.

"I'm sorry, Henry," Vicki began, looking into those deep, dark pools, hoping they would return to their more human form, "I truly am…I don't know why I said that. I think there's something weird wrong with me…"

He looked into her eyes, examining them. He pushed the beast down within him and his features returned to normal.

"I believe you. Describe what happened." He stepped away from her, arms folded once more.

"I don't know; it's like…you know when something just pops into your head and even if you don't think it enough to say it out loud you kind of…think it for a second anyways?" She sighed, her gestures indicating she was trying to find the right words. "I don't know…they just seem to come right out of my mouth…"

"Perhaps it isn't a 'weird' problem – it may just be tiredness. You have been working day and night lately and it can't be doing you any good. I should go, and let you get some rest." He pushed the same lock of hair back behind her ear once more. Suddenly, he was at the door. He turned, one eyebrow raised and a patented Fitzroy blinder of a smile directed at her. "Oh, and I hope you don't over – wrap my birthday present. I'd hate to waste wrapping tearing it off…" Then he was gone. She decided to take his advice and headed straight to bed, praying that this was just your average case of fatigue.


	3. Chapter 3: Not just a twiceoff

A/N: I just want to say thanks so much for the kind reviews from everyone! I'm glad you're liking the plot...

"Morning, boss" Coreen chirped as she came in the door. "How was your night?"

Vicki turned from the window to greet her young assistant. "It was ok…I had another one of those weird moments, but I got a good nights sleep so hopefully the crazy comments will, like my tiredness, be gone!" Vicki was in an awfully good mood today, and congratulated herself mentally on having gone almost two hours awake and not having any caffeine.

Coreen flashed the PI a sly grin.

"What did you say?"

The blonde looked slightly abashed for a moment, but quickly composed herself once more.

"Well I may have inflated Henry's ego a teensy bit, not that he needs it…"

"Oh?" the younger woman's eyes positively twinkled and her tone was that of a curious teenager, aching for the latest gossip. "How exactly did you manage that?"

"Never you mind!" The blonde bristled, wanting to avoid going over the remark she had made. 'I could give you me'…she cringed internally and berated herself for the thousandth time. "Any calls or anything?" She tried distracting Coreen. Coreen grinned wickedly.

"I don't know - I've only just gotten here. That's fine; I'll stick around and ask Henry later!" With that she practically danced back to her desk. Maybe that spell had worked after all…

xXxXxXx

Upon hearing the door open Coreen glanced up to check who it was.

"Afternoon, Mike!" She smiled at him for a moment, then returned her attention to the computer screen

"Hey, Coreen. Vicki in?"

"Nope. She's gone out on a case. Something about drug lords and a street gang…"

"WHAT?" The detective felt a wave of panic wash over him. Vicki was out there alone, dealing with serious criminals…she could be hurt or…

Coreen snorted with laughter at his reaction.

"I'm joking! Jeez, you should really relax. She's just gone out to talk to some woman about a kid who ran away; she reckons he's living rough, and this woman works with kids on the street."

Celucci grimaced for a moment at the morbid sense of humour the feisty brunette seemed to have, but then, this was Coreen he was talking to.

"Mind if I wait here?"

"Be my guest. Well, Vicki's guest…Coffee?" She made to get up and go to the coffee machine but Mike held up his hands.

"It's ok, I'll get it myself." Just as he turned to go back to the couch Vicki breezed by, taking the cup right out of his hand.

"Thanks, Mike, you shouldn't have."

"I didn't..." He mumbled, and turning back to the jug of hot coffee he poured himself another one.

"So, what can I do ya for, Mike?" She was sitting at her desk, moving files and various papers around the desktop into what she seemed to think was a neat pile. Dropping a few more papers out of her bag on top of the pile, she sipped the coffee and looked back up to the detective.

"I need your help with something. Nothing big, I just want you to have a look over these," he slipped a brown envelope onto the desk, "and just tell me what you think. It seems to just be an open and shut homicide then suicide, but something just doesn't add up."

"Mmhmm…Ok, I'll take a look later. I assume you've been to see the good doctor and gotten her opinion?"

"Yeah, Mohadevan thinks there might be something worth looking into. Kate wants to close it so I wanna be sure before I go starting any arguments with her. You don't mind?"

"Nah, slow day anyway."

Mike got up to leave.

"Except for the drug lords and street gangs…See you later, Vic."

"The what?" She shouted after him. He didn't turn, just shouted right back.

"Ask Coreen!"

Coreen attempted to hide behind her PC, and even if it had obscured Vicki's view of her entirely the giggles were very much a give-away.

xXxXxXx

For once, the vampire decided to enter the office at a leisurely stroll. He was dressed more casually than usual, in loose-fitting jeans and a deep green shirt under a black suit jacket. Well, casual for Henry, anyway.

"Henry! What did Vicki say last night?" Coreen accosted him immediately. She was no longer at her desk, instead she was perched comfortably on the couch reading. Upon noticing the entrance of the man she'd been waiting all day to interrogate the book fell to the floor and she sat up, leaning her head on the back of the couch to look at him.

"Vicki said lots of things last night." He grinned at the blonde who had intentionally ignored him when he came in.

"Yeah, but what was the _**interesting**_ thing?" She wanted desperately to know if it was a breakthrough thanks to her or just something said, as Vicki and Henry thought, out of tiredness.

Henry said nothing for a moment as he moved to beside the chair Vicki was sitting in. He bent over and whispered breathily into her ear.

"I hope you're not going to ignore me all night Victoria…" She took a sharp intake of breath and he sniffed her so she could hear. He chuckled quietly at how quickly her body responded to him. "Obviously not…would you care to take a walk with me?"

"I think we should stay right here…" She answered, her voice low and just as predatory as his own.

"Hellooo? Still here, people!" Coreen's features were twisted into a grimace at the public display of affection…well…public display of lust…not that she wasn't happy for them, but they could wait 'til she was gone…

"Wouldn't be public if you left…" Vicki snapped, looking angry at Coreen for a moment. Both her companions looked at her, dumbstruck. A split second later she mirrored their expressions.

"I'm so, so sorry, Coreen…I don't know what came over me…Of course I don't want you to leave, I…"

Coreen's expression relaxed into one of confusion. If it was her spell doing this, something had gone badly wrong. She decided not to worry just yet…

"Vicki, I think something might be interfering with your mind in some way. I don't know what yet, but I think we should do some research…" Henry's voice was grave, and the two women didn't need to ask why - he had made his opinions of this type of problem painfully clear to them before. If there was any dark magic involved Henry would make sure there was hell to pay.

Interfering with her mind? Coreen swallowed hard. She hadn't thought about it like that, but then it wasn't supposed to make Vicki think things. She had only meant it to help…She turned away from the other two for a moment, hiding the look of guilt she knew she was wearing.

"I'll check it out on the internet…might be something there…You guys could look through some books?" She wasn't going to say anything, not just yet…maybe it would wear off after a day or so…and after all, it wasn't that serious – it wasn't making her say serious stuff, and as long as it didn't interfere with anything other than her being a little mean now and again, maybe there'd be no harm in waiting to see how it played out.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks again to all of you who reviewed! Sadly I still don't own any rights to Blood Ties WHATSOEVER. Perhaps someone might give it to me for my birthday...but I won't hold my breath!

The night's research had yielded no information about what might be happening to Vicki. With nothing turning up, the trio had given up late in the night and gone their separate ways. Vicki had decided to take a look at the case file Mike had given her earlier that day; she was in no mood to even try sleeping and figured she should probably do something constructive with her time. The crime scene photos were harrowing, but nothing the ex-homicide detective wasn't used to. She studied them carefully, and then had a look at the autopsy report. She nodded as she came to the same conclusion as Mike – something just wasn't adding up. The scene was just _**too **_textbook to be acceptable, and the body they'd ruled as suicide was just _**too**_ perfectly placed…Vicki remembered reminding Mike several times over their careers together that getting a case wrapped up too neatly usually meant you'd been handed a package. And that meant someone was trying to cover something up. She took a look over the statements transcripts, and picked out one, from the next-door neighbour, that she thought ought to be followed up. He seemed to be too precise about the whole thing, so she made a mental note to make sure Mike questioned him again. Putting the file into her desk drawer, she headed toward her bedroom. She reckoned she should at least rest her eyes, even if she didn't sleep.

xXxXxXx

As soon as Coreen got in her front door she frantically searched for the book with the spell in it. She needed to know if she'd missed something; a translation error, a loophole, anything that might explain why the stupid thing backfired on her. She found the heavy, leather-bound book and, sitting on her couch, leafed through the pages in question. After reading over them several times, she was sure she'd done it right.

"Ok, one possible mistake down…" She thought aloud.

She went through the words, re-translating the text using another book. She couldn't find any mistakes, but then maybe she'd misinterpreted something. Ancient texts were a bitch for those kinds of errors.

"Right…so that's a maybe…"

She felt awful – if she had made a translation error and something bad was happening to Vicki because of her…No; she refused to let herself panic. She started to leaf through the book looking for some sort of counter-spell or way to remove it; dawn found her asleep on her couch, head lolled to one side and the book still open on her lap.

xXxXxXx

Vicki woke the next afternoon to the not-so-sweet sound of Michael Cellucci's booming voice.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty!" he poked her in the ribs and she swiped at his hand unsuccessfully.

"Screw you, Celucci!" She would've said that anyway, spell or no.

"Aw…you're so cute in the morning…" He smiled playfully at her, chuckling to himself. "I'll get you a coffee. I need to talk to you about the case file I gave you."

She groaned and punched her pillow before getting up and heading straight to the shower. After getting dressed she joined him in the office. He had her coffee ready, and she smiled gratefully at him as she took the mug of steamy, hot goodness.

"I had a look over it last night – my money's on that next-door neighbour Mr…Taylor I think? Story's too tidy. You should definitely check him out."

"Right – that's what I thought."

They halted their conversation as Coreen came through the door.

"Hey, you two…" she flopped into her seat and sighed.

"What's up, Coreen?" Vicki enquired, noticing the behaviour of her assistant.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just the late night and all, I guess." She shrugged, "Better get back to that…uh…thing I was doing for you yesterday…"

"What's the case?"

"Nothing you could or would even want to understand, Mike." Vicki's voice sounded tired. Coreen's head appeared in the doorway, her eyes meeting Vicki's for a moment before Vicki's attention was pulled back to the detective.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean, Vic?" Mike was slipping into fight mode – her remark had stung.

"It was supposed to mean that what you don't know won't piss you off."

"Vicki, how the hell…What do you want me to do? I just asked a question! A fairly normal question, I thought, now you're giving me grief for god only knows what!"

"Damn it, Cellucci, power tripping again? Just because you don't know every little thing that's going on you get all antsy with me. Well maybe it's just something you can't help with." Her grey eyes were stone cold.

"Oh and I suppose _Fitzroy_ can, huh?"

"Maybe he can, Mike. Or maybe you could get your head out of your chauvinist ass and realise I don't always need someone to 'save' me." Before he had a chance to respond to her all three people in the office jumped and panicked at a sudden loud crash.

"What the…" Coreen was staring at a pile of broken glass on a shelf.

Mike got up and walked out, unable to put the anger he felt into words. She was never that harsh with him – that was no ordinary Cellucci/Nelson argument. And if she thought she could insult him like that and he'd stick around she was sadly mistaken.

Vicki turned her attention to the source of the loud noise.

"Did you throw that?" She asked Coreen, wondering how the glass vase had managed to shatter like that. If it had been Coreen there must be something seriously off with her – throwing ornaments around wasn't exactly her style.

"No, Vicki, I didn't. It…" She hesitated, mentally running over what she had seen, "it just…exploded!"

"Do you think this has anything to do with…" Vicki trailed off. They had no name for it yet.

"I don't know…How often does stuff like this turn out to be a coincidence?" Coreen prayed that that was exactly what it was.

Vicki sighed and folded her arms, still looking at the pile of glass.

"Never."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Once again thanks for the reviews - I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this! Thanks to Jessica for spotting that glitch too - I think Vicki's in enough trouble without that to deal with too!

Henry breezed into the office a few hours after dark. His wine coloured silk shirt and black suit indicated he had been out.

"Hey, Henry…"Coreen glanced up from the book she was leafing through only for a moment.

"How is she, Coreen?"

"Not good…" She began to whisper. "She got angry and made a vase explode today…"

Vicki strolled into the room, .

"Vicki! How are you feeling?" Henry's expression hid none of the concern he felt for her.

"Fine. Not that you were too bothered about me. Had an itch that needed scratching first?" She slammed the book onto Coreen's desk, and glared accusingly at him for a moment before frustration took the place of anger on her soft features. She turned on her heel and walked quickly back out of the room.

Henry and Coreen exchanged glances before Henry went after her. She had gone to her bedroom and he found her lying on her side, turned away from the door.

"Go away, Henry, please…" She had tried to hide the fact she was crying, but Henry could have heard it in her voice even if he hadn't had vampire hearing.

He walked over to the bed and she felt him sit at the end of it.

"I know you're worried about me. And that you had to feed before you came…I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright. I came as soon as I could…" He would talk to her about her reaction to his feeding later – he wanted her to talk to him about it willingly, not like this. "What happened earlier today?"

She sighed, remembering the argument, the vase, Mike walking out…God she felt so alone in this…She tried desperately not to think it, tried to push the thought back down into the abyss, but it was too late. She knew that there was no way now to stop herself from saying it. Even as the words came out the little voice in her mind that got overruled when…whatever it was forced her to speak said 'NO!' But her mouth wasn't doing what that voice told it to. It was busy.

"Will you hold me?"

He didn't even hesitate. He crawled up the bed until her head was level with his chest. His hand gently reached around to turn her, and she rolled over to rest her head on his chest, cradled in one arm. Suddenly, she felt exquisitely happy.

"Mike came by today. We had an argument." As suddenly as it had come, the peaceful feeling faded, replaced by something akin to frustration.

"Why?"

"I blurted something…well, a few things out and he got mad. Then I felt this weird sort of…build-up of anger and the vase smashed."

"I see…" He stroked her hair, trying in some small way to comfort her.

Coreen wanted to cry. She had no idea how to fix this – it had all gone so horribly wrong. She glanced toward her bag, wondering if she should just own up to it all, show Henry and Vicki the spell, and then maybe everything would be ok…except for the fact that they'd probably never forgive her…But Vicki was getting hurt because of this whole thing…just then she remembered Henry saying that Vicki's mind was being interfered with. Interfered with – not helped. She was so lost in all this – all she had wanted was to help Vicki but instead she had hurt her. She grabbed her bag and pulled the book out, opening it on the page with the spell. Just then she heard Vicki and Henry coming back. She panicked, wondering if she should put the book away again. It was too late – Henry had spotted it.

"What is that?" He sounded angry. She bet he could sense something off it.

"It's…uh…something I found…"

"Show me." She handed the book over, still open on the page with the spell. He read through it carefully, his expression solemn. "This is it. This is what happened to you."

"What does it say?" Vicki was making her way over to get a look at it too.

"It's a spell. It's supposed to force the person to admit their thoughts and desires, to show what they're really thinking and feeling. In essence it's a form of mind control…" Vicki noticed Henry's expression – the beast in him was close to the surface, and she could tell that he was fighting to keep control of himself. She wasn't afraid of him – but she almost felt sorry for whoever the hell had done this. Almost.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry this one took a few days, there were a few things that needed ironing out in it...Thanks again for all the reviews! This one's a bit exciting, so enjoy!

Coreen was struck dumb. They'd found her out for sure…Her heart was racing and it made her panic more to think that Henry could hear the quick, pounding beats from her chest and could probably smell her fear. Just as she was thinking that he glanced up at her, frowning. She fought the urge to gasp, and attempted to mould her features into a wry smile.

"Are you alright, Coreen?" He studied her, wondering why she was so afraid.

She felt like a deer caught in headlights, unable to do anything. She forced her mouth to shape the sounds and speak, hoping some sort of excuse would find its way out.

"I'm just worried about a…if…in case it's…you know, because Vicki is…"

Henry's head tilted to the side as he watched her; she wasn't making any sense, but then perhaps she was just afraid for Vicki and didn't want to say it in front of her. But then, fear for someone else didn't manifest the same way as plain old fear…

"It's in case it's permanent, isn't it?" Vicki cut in, interrupting Henry's train of thought.

"Well…yeah…" Coreen grabbed onto the excuse, her heart rate slowing in relief.

The moment had passed. Henry was back reading the book, absorbed in translating it and trying to find loopholes or a way to reverse it. Coreen forced her breathing to slow.

"It won't be." His voice was authoritative, and he said the sentence almost like a command. There was no room for argument, it was final.

He read through the pages concerning the spell several times, then sat down on the couch, closed the book, and sighed.

"There is nothing of use here. These pages speak only of the forfeit and the reward."

"Forfeit?" Vicki asked, not understanding the term in this context.

"The forfeit is what you give up in order to receive the reward you ask for through the spell…" Coreen explained, somewhat confused herself. She hadn't promised or offered anything up to the spell; she had thought there wasn't one.

"In this case, the spell has no forfeit from the caster. It instead requires a different kind of offering."

"Which is?" Coreen asked, almost not wanting to know.

"Basically, some of the free will of the person it is worked against."

"The free will…" Coreen repeated, slower, her hand moving to cover her mouth. Once again, Henry had put a slant on it that she just hadn't seen before…She thought back to the night she had worked the spell – she had been so proud of herself for thinking of this, so happy that Vicki might finally be able to resolve some of her inner struggles. If only she had thought it through, read between the lines about the consequences. She felt sick, and looking at Vicki and Henry, so trusting of her, not knowing what she had done, made her feel dirty. She wanted to run away, to just go and leave this behind. She also wanted to tell them and accept whatever it was they wanted to do with her – she knew she deserved worse than anything they could think of. But she did neither. She sat there, watching Henry as he tried to think of something, anything to do.

"Where did you find this?" Henry guessed at it, but wanted to know for sure.

"Uh…the university library…" It was the truth, sort-of. She hadn't exactly checked it out; she had stolen it.

"Ok, so chances are there might be some sort of spell-reversal for dummies book there too. Henry?" Vicki knew he could be there and back in half the time it would take anyone else. He nodded at her and headed for the door.

xXxXxXx

Henry returned an hour later, carrying a heavy brown book, not dissimilar from the one containing the spell.

"Did you find anything?" Vicki looked so hopeful, sure that there would be some sort of solution and everything would be alright.

"Yes. But it's not good…" Henry wished with every fibre of his being that he could have given her some other news. He had indeed found a way to deal with the effects of the spell, but it wasn't the miracle cure they had all hoped for; it was dangerous, and required the use of more magic…He hadn't even been sure if it was a good idea to tell them, but he thought they should at least know.

"Whatever it is, as long as it works! Tell us." Relief mingled with guilt in Coreen's gut and she bit her bottom lip, waiting for Henry to explain.

"It's a ritual. It's dangerous, very powerful…I don't know if I can…" He closed his eyes and sighed.

"What do you mean you 'don't know'? Can you do it?" Coreen couldn't contain herself.

"It requires certain…sacrifices…and if it doesn't work then we may both be taken by the spell…or worse…"

"Who's we?"

"Vicki and I." He grimaced. By the sound of things he had already made up his mind. He placed the book down on Coreen's desk and closed his eyes, trying to make sense of this. He was so conflicted – he despised the use of magic. It went against all his beliefs, and he knew exactly how wrong it could go. But then there was her; he had sworn to protect her from evil. If he didn't do this it would surely break that oath.

"What would we need?" Vicki piped up for the first time since his return. "What would we have to do?"

He hesitated for just a moment, dealing with the last of his uncertainty. He was still very much against this route, but then, if he didn't do this...

"Understand that this is not something to be taken lightly. It will not be easy, and there may be consequences even I can't anticipate." He looked at Coreen and Vicki, making sure they understood. His expression was solemn, his tone even more so. He couldn't believe he was actually going to go through with it, but he was. For her, he would do almost anything. "Very well." He reached for the book he had brought back, and flicked quickly through the pages until he found the right one. "Here it is. This is what we'll need."

"_Christ, sweet Lord, forgive me for the sin I am about to commit__."_


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is a bit happier than the last few chapters, but I thought it was about time some things got resolved.

xXxXxXx

Henry had had to leave just before dawn and Coreen and Vicki had decided to take his cue and bed down for the day; nothing good could come of their being too tired to function the next night. Vicki was first to awake; she had left Coreen to rest, so had gone to find something to eat and get a cup of coffee. She glanced sideways at the book Henry had found in the library the night before. She could tell from the look of it that it was very old, and there was something about it, a kind of aura, she supposed, that made her wary of it. She couldn't believe that Henry was willing to perform the ritual for her. He hadn't really explained it all that clearly – in fact he had dodged most of her questions about it. His unwillingness to fill her in on whatever 'sacrifices' and 'dangers' were involved put her even more on edge about the whole thing. She wished there was another way; but she didn't want to be stuck telling the whole world everything she was thinking for the rest of her life…or breaking things when she got mad…Thinking about the argument with Mike, she felt she should put it right with him; since Henry wouldn't give her a worst-case scenario, she didn't know if she'd be able to do it later. She grabbed her jacket and handbag and headed out the door.

xXxXxXx

When she arrived at the station she hadn't expected him to be happy to see her. And he certainly wasn't; in fact he did something very uncharacteristic of Mike Cellucci – he ignored her completely.

"Ok, if you don't talk to me I'll…I'll follow you around all day blabbering until you can't stand it any more." Faced with the prospect of this he decided to throw her a bone. Maybe she was going to apologise. Not that he was going to make it easy for her, but he gave her a curt "hi."

"That'll do…Look, Mike, I know the things I said to you the other day were way out of line. I'm just gonna give a little speech then I'll be out of your hair. Ok?"

He nodded at her, wondering what the hell she was doing.

She took a deep breath, and gave up trying to fight the compulsion to tell him everything. She let go entirely, wanting, needing to be completely honest with him. She let all her feelings out, allowed the words out without any hesitation.

"Mike, I love you, I know that and you know that. But it's not the same love it used to be; just like our relationship, and me, it's changed. You're my best friend, and always will be, I hope. I know sometimes I've strung you along, but the fact is that until now I didn't really understand my feelings for you. I'm so sorry about the argument, the things I said…I couldn't help it, they just came out. I know all you ever try to do is look out for me and I hope you always will, and that we'll be ok from now on." She stopped. She had said all she needed to. Amazingly she felt different, lighter, somehow, like a burden was lifted from her.

He stared at her for a moment, absorbing all she had said and wondering what to make of it. It was true, their relationship had changed, and he loved her too, but if she was sure that was what she wanted from him, he could accept that. At least they would be able to move on now, as friends.

"Thanks, Vic. I love you too." He stood and hugged her, and they kissed each other on the cheek. "But if you pull this mushy crap on me again I'll have to get you psychologically evaluated!" She punched him playfully on the arm.

"Anyway, now that's over with, I've got to go. Catch ya later, Mike." They smiled at each other then she left, heading back to the office.

xXxXxXx

"Where were you? I was worried about you!" Coreen sounded like an angry parent scolding her teenage daughter for being out too late. Her hands were on her hips and she was eyeing Vicki suspiciously.

"Relax, _**Mom**_, I just went to see Mike." Vicki grinned as she took off her jacket and put it and her bag on a chair.

"Oh? How'd that go?" Coreen was anxious to find out if Vicki had gotten herself into any more trouble with him. When she had woken up to find Vicki's bed empty she had panicked, hoping the PI hadn't gone out doing something impulsive.

Vicki chuckled to herself, and decided to put her assistant out of her misery.

"Very well, actually. I didn't break anything, and, well, I guess we kind of decided to be friends. It was nice – we even hugged." At that Coreen latched onto her friend in a tight hug. Vicki actually hugged her back, to the surprise of both women.

"So, you guys have kinda broken up for good then, huh?"

"I wouldn't say broken up, I mean, we weren't _**together**_, but we just got closure. It felt good to finally let it all out in the open, you know?"

Coreen half-smiled at her boss. At least one good thing had come from this whole thing. She could only hope that the ritual would go well that night and that finally things would go back to normal. She stopped herself from becoming panicked again – there was no need to worry…yet…

"I'd still love to know who the hell would do this to me…I mean, what sort of purpose would it serve?"

"I…I don't know…" Coreen was getting nervous again. This line of questioning might lead to Vicki investigating further and discovering the truth…But then, wouldn't that be better for her conscience? She hadn't exactly lied, but she felt just as bad omitting the truth…But if Henry found out she'd be in very serious trouble…She kept her mouth shut.

"I guess as long as it gets removed or whatever it doesn't really matter…But still – it's kinda weird, right?" Vicki's eyebrows were drawn down slightly.

"Yeah…it really is…But…maybe whoever did it didn't really know what they were doing…"

"What, like it got sent to the wrong person or something?"

"Yeah, like that…"

Just then they were interrupted by Henry, who walked into the office purposefully, his expression solemn, carrying a fairly large wooden box.

"These are the supplies." He wasn't able to deal with pleasantries; his mouth was bone dry and he felt ill. He was resolved to go through with it, but that didn't mean he'd have to like it, or feel good about it. He placed the box down on Coreen's desk. "Coreen, I think you should stay, just in case anything goes wrong…" She nodded once, indicating she would.

"Henry, can we talk first? I…I need to say a few things before…" Vicki began, and he looked up at her, as if he had forgotten anyone else was there.

"Of course" He closed the box and they made their way into her office, closing the door behind them.

She couldn't believe she was going to do this twice in the one day; and willingly, at that.

"Henry, I saw Mike today. I needed to get some things off my chest, and we sort of…came to an understanding. We've decided to just be friends." She allowed him to absorb this information for a minute. "I don't know where that leaves us, but I'd like to explore the possibilities…"

"Are you saying what I think you are?" He studied her, fascinated at this sudden admission. It wasn't the same as before – she wasn't struggling to hold the words in. In fact, it seemed she was at peace with it.

"Well, I'm not saying we should jump right in the sack together, but I'm open to trying the whole 'us' thing out…" She grinned mischievously at him. He grinned right back. She walked over to him, and kissed him full on the lips. After a few moments they broke apart, returning to the gravity of the situation. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles, then they went back out to Coreen. They had a ritual to get through.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Ok, this is the final chapter! Thanks to all for following it, I hope you find this to be a fitting conclusion.

xXxXxXx

Coreen was standing over by the box, her hand outstretched; wondering whether or not she was allowed to open it.

"Don't, Coreen." Henry walked over, picked it up gently, then placed it on the ground. He opened it and took out each item slowly, placing them on the floor; there were ten candles, five black, five white, a cast-iron pot, four glass jars which held some powders and, finally, he pulled out a gleaming silver knife. He sighed, looking them over one last time; all present and accounted for. He closed the box once more, his heart heavy. He gestured to the two women to come closer. He would have to talk them through it first, make sure they understood what was going to happen.

"Ok, it's all here; I just have to make the symbols using the candles." Coreen and Vicki were watching and listening very carefully.

"This ritual basically takes a part of the giver's will, and grants it to the receiver. The black is for me, the white for you. We will sit facing one another and each have to begin differently. When preparations are made and enough energy had been called, I will offer up my will to you, place some of my blood in with the herbs, then hand you the knife. You need to request the gift, put some of your blood in with mine, then we will both drink, you first – but it is vitally important that we do not drink it all. The last part needs to be done together. I have copied the words you need to say here, I will take the book. He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Vicki, it's important that you understand how exactly this will affect you. A link will be made between us, how strong I don't know. I don't know how it will manifest, or if we'll even notice it. If you don't want to do this, you need to say so now."

"A link?"

"Yes. Technically speaking you will be taking a part of me, I don't know any more about it, but if you're willing to risk it, so am I."

Vicki took a few minutes to digest this information. Stuck forever speaking her mind (and not in the way she liked to do), or sharing some sort of bond with Henry? He did say he wasn't even sure it would be noticeable…

"I want to do this…but…only if you're sure?" She looked up into his eyes, determined to stop the whole thing if she caught even the shadow of a doubt within them. She saw none.

"I'm sure, Vicki. Let's begin." He placed his hand on her cheek for a moment, and brushed her soft skin with his thumb. They half-smiled at each other, then set to work.

He put all the ritual items in the right places, black candles denoting the symbol Henry was to sit within, white for Vicki. The round pot was right in the middle, just in reach of both of them. Coreen stood by, watching carefully. She prayed to all the gods she could think of that this would go safely.

xXxXxXx

They began, each reading their own parts, and Coreen noticed the power they were building as a tangible thing, the air was slowly changing in the room. _**Something**_ was happening; she just hoped it was the right thing.

Henry finished his part, and he and Coreen watched with bated breath as Vicki, too finished. Coreen held in a gasp as she saw a bright blue light emanating out from each of them, growing brighter and brighter until eventually they encircled each other. They drank, then, as the instructions said, chanted the conclusion in unison. Suddenly, the air returned to normal and all three took sharp intakes of breath, shocked by the abrupt change.

Henry and Vicki regarded each other, checking for any obvious changes. Seeing none, they lunged forward, almost knocking over the pot in the process, and held each other. Whatever had passed between them during the ritual had been very powerful, and the pull they felt to touch each other in some way was irresistible to both.

"How do you feel?" Vicki whispered to him.

"Tired. Otherwise, I seem to be fine. How do you feel?" His voice was just as hushed as hers.

"Same. Except unlike yours my cut hasn't magically disappeared."

He pulled away from her, and took her arm tenderly, allowed his eyes to darken and fangs to descend. As lightly and gently as he knew how he licked at the wound until the bleeding had stopped.

"It may still need a bandage, but that should hold it for now."

"Oh my god, you guys! That was amazing! How did it feel? How do you both feel?" Coreen forgot herself for a moment, in awe of what she had just seen. Remembering the reason they had had to do this she sobered somewhat – she knew she would always be wary of magic from then on, and would always remember what kind of trouble it could cause.

They stood, a little shaky, and Vicki described it as 'weird.' Neither would tell her any more, but then, she didn't really want to know any more. They all pitched in clearing up the candles and Henry poured the remaining mixture in the pot into one of the glass jars.

"What is that for?"

"It needs to be burned. It's the forfeit. Our bloods mixed." He pocketed it, intending to keep it as safe as could be.

"So…do you feel anything…between us?"

"Nothing that wasn't there before." He raised his eyebrow at her, and she grinned at him.

"Me neither."

"It may take some time to show up, or it may never be felt. But it's there."

"Hey, Henry?"

He looked up at her, giving her his full attention.

"I guess now, you're a part of me, too…"


End file.
